Everything Is Beautiful, and I'm Not Afraid

Everything Is Beautiful, and I'm Not Afraid perfectly captures the feelings of a young sojourner in America as she explores the nuances in searching for a place to belong. Baopu is a monthly serialized comic on Autostraddle, and this book includes beloved fan favorites plus new, never-before-seen comics.

This one-of-a-kind graphic novel explores the poetics of searching for connection, belonging, and identity through the fictional life of a young, queer immigrant. Inspired by the creator's own experiences as a queer, China-born illustrator living in the United States, Everything Is Beautiful, and I'm Not Afraid has an undeniable memoir quality to its recollection and thought-provoking accounts of what it's like to navigate the complexities of seeking belonging-mentally and geographically.

About the Author

Yao Xiao was born in 1990 in Tianjin, China. She is an illustrator, cartoonist, and writer residing in New York. She writes about the transient experience of being a queer immigrant in a foreign country. Her art is often about straddling and bridging different worlds and navigating difficult memories. Her work has appeared in Buzzfeed, Entertainment Weekly, Mental Floss, National Geographic, Newsweek, TIME Magazine, Vice, and the Wall Street Journal. Her work has helped people all over the globe connect at unique moments, from the celebration of the 20-Year Anniversary of the SXSW Interactive Festival, to the grand release of pop singer Katy Perry's single "Dark Horse."

She currently works out of her home on the Upper West Side with her cat, Happy.